I grew up with a fairly strict Father who felt that children shouldn't do certain things. For example, he didn't want his daughters getting their ears pierced or wearing makeup before the age of 16. My Mom got our ears pierced when we were 2 months old, but with most other things, she went along with what he said. Another instance I remember as a kid was when we went to church and he wouldn't let us partake in communion when the tray came around. My Dad explained that this ritual was for people who were older and had a certain relationship with God. It was until we accepted Christ and were baptized, that we were allowed to take communion. I know plenty of people who let their kids take communion, but my Dad didn't play that! Last Sunday I sat next to a lady with 3 kids, 2 of which who were toddlers and she let them take communion and that kinda bothered me. Everyone is allowed to do what they want with THEIR children, and I'm sure most Moms (mine included!) would just say let the kids have it because it's not hurting anything. But now I understand why MY Dad didn't let us do it. Firstly he didn't want us to get into the habit of taking communion and not understanding WHY we do it. We all know people who have been in church all their lives and have no real relationship with God. But they can play church with the best of them. Secondly he wanted us to have something to look forward to in our walk with God.

I think the biggest lesson it taught me is that sometimes you have to deny yourself certain things even if it doesn't seem like it will hurt anything. It seems that whenever I really wanted something in life, I had to deny myself in some way. I'm not talking about deprivation here, but cutting back on excess.  For Lent this year I'm trying to cut out a good number of my minor vices and keeping the following quote in the forefront of my mind

'If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.'.

I don't have any major vices (IMO), but I got plenty of the minor ones and they are probably just as bad in the long run. So for the record I plan to cut out the profanity, red meat/pork, desserts, and fornication for at least the next 40 days. Surprisingly I think that the profanity will be the hardest thing. I don't cuss that much, but I realize a lot of the music I listen to has a bunch of cuss words in it and it puts the words in my mind. I wonder if they have a radio friendly version of Pandora!

What are you guys giving up for Lent?